A major tragedy was averted on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway near Karol in Ramban district of Jammu and Kashmir when a bus carrying 47 Amarnath pilgrims caught fire. The pilgrims from Rajasthan were on their way home after darshan at the Amarnath shrine in the South Kashmir Himalayas. The incident took place at around 4.15 pm, but thanks to the swift action of CRPF personnel deployed at Karol, all passengers were evacuated safely without any injuries.
The CRPF personnel noticed the fire and immediately started evacuating passengers. Teams of J&K Police, Army, SDRF, Fire and Emergency Services, and local volunteers also joined and launched a rescue and firefighting operation. However, a member of the fire brigade was injured after falling during the firefighting operation and sustained a fracture in the leg.
He was taken to the Government Medical College Hospital in Jammu. Ramban Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Alyas Khan and SSP Arun Gupta rushed to the spot and moved the evacuated passengers to the Amarnath Yatra camp in Ramban. Later, they were sent back to Rajasthan in buses arranged by the administration, which also provided them with basic amenities for their travel.
The Ramban DC said, ‘As they wanted to go home, we arranged buses for them up to Rajasthan.’ Unfortunately, the luggage and other belongings of the passengers were reduced to ashes in the fire.
